2008 - dale c. allison - review of ‘matthew 1-7. a commentary’ by ulrich luz

8/13/2019 2008 - Dale C. Allison - Review of Matthew 1-7. A Commentary by Ulrich Luz

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http://ttj.sagepub.com/content/65/1/133.citationThe online version of this article can be found at:

DOI: 10.1177/004057360806500124

2008 65: 133Theology TodayDale C. Allison, Jr.

pp. $75.007: A Commentary, Ulrich Luz, Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007. 432Matthew 1

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ookReviews 33

of infant baptism. Fully one-third of the book serves as an apologia for thepractice. Fueled by rejection of the practice by theologians such as Barth andMoltmann, controversies about paedobaptism continue to swirl within thechurches of the Reformed tradition. Brownson might have contained his livelydefense of the practice to fewer pages and, in turn, expanded his treatment ofthe theme of baptism and the public witness of the church in relation to con-temporary challenges and contexts.

While I have some difficulties at points with the Spinks and Brownsonbooks, I appreciate the enrichment that they bring to research on the sacramentof baptism. I recommend the Spin ks volumes for use in research on C hristianinitiation and for teaching theological students. In my own teaching, willcontinue to use Whitaker on a regular basis and m ay consider alternating Joh n-sons and Spinkss mapping books I highly recommend the Brownson bookfor use in local churches by pastors, church boards, and adult education teach-ers. I will likely also use it as a supplemental text in my seminary classes.

Gordon S. MikoskiPrinceton T heological SeminaryPrinceton, New Jersey

Ulr ich uzMinneapolis: Fortress 2007 432 pp. 75.00.

Ulrich Luz, pro fessor emeritus at the University of Bern in Switzerland, is per-haps todays premier scholar of Matthews Gospel. The first installment of hismonum ental four-volume com mentary fo r the Evungelisch Kutholischer ommentur zum Neuen Testament series appeared in 1985, the last in 2002. In1989, Au gsburg published W ilhelm C . Linsss English translation of the firstvolume, which covered chapte rs 1-7. Now Jam es E. Cro uch has translated f orthe Hermeneia series and Fortress Press the complete commentary, whichappears in English as three volumes instead of four. The first volume coverschapters 1-7, the second, chapters 8-20 the third, chapters 21-28.

The present incarnation of volume 1 in English is not a revision of Linssswork but rather a fresh translation of the fifth German edition. Accordingly, thisvolume differs considerably from the earlier English edition and renders theearlier version obsolete. Changes include adaptation to the Hermeneia series

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34 Book Reviews

A webs i te wh erePastors Lay LeadersScho la rs can f indin fo rma tion on

Whats Been LearnedRP\earr r IS Wmeri, ia

Grants Information

Information Reflectionon Selected Projectsfunded by the L i l l y Endowment Inc.

format; black-and-white prints of works of art; updated bibliographies andnum erous references to more recent scholarship up to 1998 for chapters 3-7,up to 2000 for the introduction and chapters 1-2); several expanded reviews ofthe history of interpretation; fuller discussion of several topics e.g., M atthewsstructure and its literary genre and literary strategies); new exegetical judg-ments e.g., Luz now recognizes I:1 as the title of the entire G ospel, not jus t theheading for 1 :2-25); and indices of texts, Greek words, subjects, and authors.

Luz proceeds pericope by pericope. Each section op ens with citation ofsecondary literature no attempt is mad e to be exhaustive) and then a transla-tion. Analysis follows, which here consists of observations on the structure ofeach relevant passage, conclusions about its sources, redaction, and tradition-history, as well as, on occasion, judg me nts regarding origins. The n there is theinterpretation proper, which typically unfolds verse by verse. Most sectionsend with a review, often lengthy, of the history of interpretation.

Luzs greatest contribution lies in his instructive and fascinating examina-tions of the history of interpretation. These are learned overviews, often with



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Book Reviews 35

personal theological evaluation, of what the reading of Matthew has wroughtover two thousand years. L uz d oes not, moreover, confine himself t o reviewingcommentaries. He is equally concerned with a texts history of influence,which for him means understanding how Matthew has been received and actu-alized in me dia oth er than commentaries-in verbal me dia suc h as sermons,canonical d ocu me nts, and literature, as well as in nonverbal m edia su ch as artand m usic, and in the churchs activity and suffering, that is, in church history.In short, Luz is interested in the effective pow er of the texts themselves.Reviews of the history of the interpretation and influence of a text are, forLuz, of mo re than antiquarian interest. Th ey are rather an integral part of faith-ful interpretation. Such reviews help to shed light on ones own locus ofunderstanding and thus contribute to ones own m odern u ndersta nding at pre-cisely this locus. Such an understanding is always contextual and alwayspartly new and different, although-or, more accurately, precisely because-what is at stake is an understanding of the ancient biblical texts that are per-manently given to us. Luz wants to recover older, precritical readingsprecisely in order to understand how the contemporary church should appro-priate Matthew-which is why at several points one runs across a subsec tiontitled Meaning for Today. Luz wants to pass beyond traditional historical-critical question s and an swe rs and bring Matthews text into our presen t world.

If one is interested in traditional historical-critical issues, then other com-mentaries o n M atthew will prove to be of equal value. But if on e is interestedin how readers through the ages have understood and appropriated Matthew,then Luz is without peer. Theologians will find much for serious reflectionhere. Pastors preparing serm ons will find the exege sis prude nt and helpful andthe sections on the history of interpretation invalua ble and full of su gges-tions for practical application.

Dale C. Allison Jr.Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


2008 - dale c. allison - review of ‘matthew 1-7. a commentary’ by ulrich luz

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